What does the company do?
General Electric Company (GE) is a diversified technology, media and financial services company. Its products and services include aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, security technology, medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products. As of December 31, 2008, GE operated in five segments: Energy Infrastructure, Technology Infrastructure, NBC Universal, Capital Finance and Consumer & Industrial. In January 2009, the Company acquired Interbanca S.p.A., an Italian corporate bank. In April 2008, Oil & Gas completed the acquisition of the Hydril Pressure Controls business from Tenaris. In September 2008, the Company announced the sale of its Japanese consumer finance business to Shinsei Bank. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company acquired Whatman plc; Vital Signs, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Capital, and CitiCapital.In September 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of ScanWind.
How much does the company sell and earn?
Investors need to know how much stuff or services a company sells, and how much of that total it keeps as income (or profit) to grow its business or return to shareholders. The more of each, the better. In general, look for companies that sell and earn more than peers.
- General Electric one-year sales: 161.56 Bil.
Difference from the average for the Conglomerates group: 84.10% - General Electric one-year income: 11.75 Bil.
Difference from the average for the Conglomerates group: 90.66%| Sales & Income (past 12 months) | Company | Industry |
|---|
| Sales | 161.56 Bil | 87.75 Bil | | Income | 11.75 Bil | 6.17 Bil |
How fast is the company growing?
- General Electric one-year sales growth: -16.80%.
Difference from the average for the Conglomerates group: 0.70 pct. pts. - General Electric one-year income growth: -49.10%.
Difference from the average for the Conglomerates group: -14.80 pct. pts.| Sales & Income Growth (past 12 months) | Company | Industry |
|---|
| Sales Growth | -16.80% | -17.50% | | Income Growth | -49.10% | -34.30% |
How profitable is the company?
Investors prefer companies that increase profit margins -- the percentage of sales that they keep -- every year. This is accomplished either by lowering expenses or raising prices. Look for companies that consistently find ways to squeeze more profits out of sales than their peers.
- General Electric one-year net profit margin: 7.5%
Difference from the company's 5-year average net profit margin: -4.6 pct. pts.
Difference from the average for the Conglomerates group: 0.2 pct. pts.
| Net profit margins (%) |
|---|
| Company | 7.5% | | Company 5-Yr Avg. | 12.1% | | Industry | 7.3% |
How is the company's financial health?
The debt/equity ratio shows how much a firm has borrowed as a percentage of its stock equity. The lower, the better.
- General Electric debt/equity ratio: 4.41.
Difference from the average for the Conglomerates group: 75.00%.
| | Company | Industry |
|---|
| Debt/equity ratio | 4.41 | 2.52 |
|
Recent News